Felix Auger-Aliassiame surprised many experts by making it to the semifinals at the U.S. Open. On Sept. 5, he was locked in an equally surprising and ferocious battle against the world’s top-ranked men’s tennis player, Jannik Sinner, in that semifinal.
As Auger-Aliassiame rocked ace after ace, taking the second set from Sinner after losing the first, many fans wondered about his bio, including his parents, Marie Auger and Sam Aliassiame. It turns out that Auger-Aliassiame’s dad was his first coach.
Auger-Aliassiame is the 27th-ranked men’s tennis player in the world, with a career high ranking of sixth, according to the ATP Tour. That bio says his tennis idol was Roger Federer, and he speaks English and French, having been raised in Montreal. “Father, Sam Aliassime, is a tennis coach and originally from Togo; mother, Marie Auger; sister, Malika, also plays tennis,” the bio says.
Sam Aliassiame Coached His Son, Felix Auger-Aliassiame, Until He Was 13
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According to The New York Times, Auger-Aliassiame revealed that his dad first started training him to play tennis when he was only 4 years old. That news story came when Auger-Aliassiame was just 15.
By age 18, ESPNdescribed Auger-Aliassiame in 2019 as being “on the verge of a major breakout.”
His dad wanted him to be a “complete athlete,” though, so he played “all sports,” with “tennis always at the top,” the pro told ESPN.
Felix Auger-Aliassime’s Parents Wanted to Celebrate His ‘Dual Heritage,’ Reports Say
According to ESPN, Sam Aliassime “emigrated from Togo and married French Canadian schoolteacher Marie Auger,” having Felix and his sister Malika with her. The parents gave their kids both surnames to celebrate their “dual heritage,” ESPN reported.
“My mom isn’t a sports fan,” Auger-Aliassime revealed to ESPN, which reported that his dad coached Auger-Aliassime until he was age 13, when he started training in Montreal with “elite coaches and players.”
“It was a big difference from before,” he told ESPN, adding, “From that point, I really got to another level. That’s where you go from being a player with good potential to someone who can win junior tournaments, and it can get you to the pros.”
